This invention relates to a carton or box. It relates more particularly to a carton which can also be used as a dispenser and display for the carton contents.
In order to minimize materials and handling costs, it is common practice to have a carton perform the dual functions of a container for shipping articles from the manufacturer to the retailer and a dispenser for dispensing the articles at the retailer's point of sale. Often such dispenser-type cartons also include an upstanding card or flap for advertising the particular product. To avoid having to provide separate racks for such display-type cartons, they are frequently removably secured to existing shelves in the store by means of some sort of bracket or clamp. The bracket engages in the carton and is attached to the front edge of the shelf so that the carton projects out from the shelf toward the prospective purchaser so as to maximize the carton's visibility and accessibility.
Prior cartons of this general type have been disadvantaged, however, in that when they are secured to a shelf by a bracket, they tend to sag due to the weight of the carton contents and also due to purchasers pushing down on the carton as they withdraw articles from the carton. Such sagging of the carton renders the display less pleasing to the eye and thus less effective. If the sagging of the carton becomes excessive, the advertising indicia may be partially or completely concealed. Also the contents of carton may fall onto the floor. In addition, the carton itself may tear at its point or points of attachment to the bracket with the result that the entire carton and its contents drop to the floor.
Another problem with display cartons of this general type is that in many cases they have a substantial vertical extent so that they tend to conceal articles on the shelf behind the carton. Consequently, in some cases store owners are reluctant to mount the cartons at their proper locations at the fronts of the shelves because of inquiries and complaints about such concealed merchandise. Finally prior display cartons of this general type tend to be relatively complicated structures requiring several cutting, bending and folding operations in order to form the carton and erect it for display. Consequently, those containers are relatively expensive in terms of material, cost and set-up time.